Generic Story about Kain's Life
by grisabele
Summary: This is the story of Kain's life..from birth until the end of BO1. New chapter and some news.
1. Default Chapter

**Blood and Ashes**

**A/N: Mmkay. I shall be revising this story one chapter at a time instead of taking the whole thing down. Please bear with me, and excuse the dust and gaping plot holes.**

It was early in the evening, just past sunset, and sometime in early summer. Dante Oscurita, quite possibly the wealthiest man in Coorhagen, paced nervously around in his study. His wife, Vitoria, had gone into labor an hour ago, and her chambermaids tried to help her while another had gone for the midwife. The midwife would likely be arriving at any moment. But Dante was concerned. The baby was coming earlier than expected, of this, Dante was certain. When the midwife last visited, she'd said that Vitoria would give birth later in the summer. He ran his fingers through his coal black hair and stopped pacing, telling himself that everything would be fine. It was, at that moment, that he heard a firm knock on his study door. "Enter!" he barked, unaware of how irritated his tone of voice made him sound. The door opened and a middle-aged woman carrying a four year-old boy walked in. "Begging your pardon, my Lord, but...Benedetto...wanted to see his mother, and can't understand why he isn't able to see her just yet. Perhaps...you can explain?"

Dante's heart softened at the sight of his older son. The boy's black hair was tousled, and his eyes were wide, full of curiosity.

"Where's Mama?" he asked.

"Your mother's...very busy. You can't go see her yet. But she won't be busy in a while. She'll be happy to see you then."

"What is she busy with?"

"She's..." Dante tried to think of how to explain what was going on so that a four year-old could understand. Then he knew what to say.

"Mama's getting your new brother or sister. Her maids are helping her, and the midwife will be here soon to help her, too."

"Is it hard to get a baby?" Benedetto asked.

"Very," Dante said, "That's why she needs all that help."

The boy's nanny looked relieved. "Come on, Benedetto. Let's go back to your room now."

"I wanna stay with Papa."

The nanny sighed. Dante smiled in spite of his worry. "He can stay, so long as he doesn't make any trouble. You'll behave, though, won't you?"

Benedetto nodded.

"You see? He'll be no trouble."

The nanny nodded, and left the room, closing the doors behind her. Benedetto climbed into the chair in the corner and looked around. Dante watched him for a minute, then began pacing. After a few minutes, there was another knock. "Enter," Dante called. The doors opened again, and one of the maids who wasn't helping Vitoria peered in. "The midwife is here."

"Did you show her the way?"

"We did, my Lord."

"Very well."

Dante looked over at the chair his son had climbed into, to make sure he was still there. To his relief, the boy had fallen fast asleep.

* * *

_Ariel was in her private chambers. Something was wrong. She could sense it. There was something...not right. Something hadn't been right for days now, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Moebius had seemed more smug than usual, lately. And Mortanius acted suspiciously whenever he was around her, always seeming like he wanted so badly to say something, to warn her about something, but could never get the words out. But Ariel wasn't the only who'd noticed that something seemed off-kilter. Nupraptor, too, had sensed that something was wrong. "There's a treacher in the Circle," he said one day, for no apparent reason. His words had sent chills up Ariel's spine. _

_Someone knocked at her door. Curious, she opened it. There was Mortanius, standing before her._

_"Oh. Mortanius...what is it?"_

_"I need to speak with you. May I come in?"_

_"Of course," Ariel said, moving so that the Necromancer could enter. "What...is going on?"_

_Mortanius took a deep breath. "There...are times when you are forced to do things against your will...things for the greater good..."_

_He slowly walked over to Ariel's scales. "I'm sure you...understand."_

_Ariel backed toward the scales. "What do you mean?"_

_"Even now, things are being set in motion...and I am only a man. I cannot stop them."_

_Ariel turned around and looked at the scales. "Something is wrong, Mortanius."_

_"I know that better than you do." He winced, he could feel the entity taking over, and he muffled his cries with his sleeve. Fortunately, Ariel had not turned around. Against his will, he took out the dagger he kept at his side. _

_"Mortanius...something..." Ariel shook her head, and placed some energy on the scales.  
_

_"I know," Mortanius said, in a voice that belonged not to him, but to that **entity.** Ariel turned her head, to see who was speaking, but, in that instant, Mortanius drove the dagger into her back. She screamed, and fell, tipping the scales on her way down.  
_

_By that time, Mortanius had already gone._

_

* * *

_

"One more push, Lady," the midwife urged, "Just one more."

"I've not the strength..."

"Nonsense! You have borne a child before this!"

"He was not as stubborn," Vitoria groaned.

"Push, Lady." The midwife's tone was firm. She looked over at a chambermaid. "You! Fetch me a blanket, a pail of water, and a rag!" The chambermaid nodded and hurried out.

* * *

_Nupraptor felt a strange, rippling sensation. He couldn't explain it. His instinct screamed **"Someone has died!"** but he didn't want to pay attention._

_**(someone has died, Nupraptor)**_

_Nupraptor shuddered. There was his intuition, speaking loudly, clearly. He stood up._

_**(someone has been murdered someone close has been murdered)**_

_"Ariel!" Nupraptor said, aloud. He hurried out of his own chambers at the Pillars and ran to Ariel's._

_**(Don't let it be Ariel, not Ariel let Ariel be safe ohgodohgodohgodoh)**_

_He yanked open the doors, and the first thing he saw was that the scales were tipped, that there was blood on the wall. And sprawled out on the floor, face down with a gaping wound in her back was Ariel. The blood blended in with her red dress, stained her golden hair crimson. Nupraptor dropped to his knees beside her and rolled her over, hoping, that somehow, she was alive, that she could tell him who did this to her. But all he saw was her blank, hollow eyes. Dead eyes. _

_**(there is treachery here someone in the Circle did it I'll make them all...make them all...make...them...)**_

_Nupraptor howled with grief and pressed Ariel's head close to his chest._

_In the distant city of Coorhagen, Vitoria's child cried for the first time._

_**(suffer)**_

_**

* * *

** _

After what seemed like hours, a chambermaid burst in. "My Lord! My Lord! The baby's come! Vitoria wants to see you!"

Dante's breath caught in his throat. The child was born? And his wife still lived.

"Watch Benedetto!" he said as he hurried out, toward the bedroom he shared with his wife.

Lady Vitoria looked pale and very tired, but was fine otherwise. She cradled a baby with a mass of black hair on it's head in her arms.  
"It's a boy," the midwife said. Dante took some gold from his purse and gave it to the midwife.  
"Thank you, Milord!" said the midwife, surprised to have been given the gold. Then she left.  
"He's beautiful..." said Dante, stroking the boy's hair.  
"Kain..." murmured Vitoria.  
"What?"  
"That's his name, Dante! Kain, because Kain means beautiful..."  
"I see." Dante said, stroking the boy's hair again.  
"Kain. I like the sound of that."


	2. The Pillars

**The Pillars**

  
**A/N: Okie-day, for the record Maleah Haines does NOT grow up to be Umah. And you should know the usual disclaimer schtuff by now. Furthermore, I've NO idea where Coorhagen is in relation to the Pillars, so I'm gonna assume it's close for this story. **  
  
Eight years later, Kain had grown into a strong, good-looking little boy, inseparable from his older brother Benedetto. And they, in turn, were inseparable from the innkeeper's daughter, Maleah Haines. She was taller and more willowy than the other girls, and she acted more like a boy than a girl, had long black hair which her mother refused to let her cut, and large, expressive dark violet eyes.  
"You know..." said Benedetto, "The Pillars are right over there..."  
"What are you suggesting?" Kain said. He didn't really like to be around the Pillars. They made him nervous, for some reason.  
"Let's go!" said Maleah.  
"I don't know that we should..." said Kain softly.  
"Aw, c'mon, Kain!" urged Maleah, "It'll be fun!"  
"I personally don't see what's so fun about a bunch of old, falling apart pillars," Kain muttered. But he did go along anyways, not wanting to be thought a coward, especially not by Maleah.  
  
"This way!" laughed Benedetto as the children ran down the path, Kain going at a slower pace than the rest. Kain had a horrible sense of foreboding about the Pillars, and frankly wished he was back home with his parents. But, as I've mentioned, he didn't want to be thought a coward by his brother and Maleah. When they reached the Pillars, they snuck around it, hoping for a glimpse of one of the Circle. Kain was starting to enjoy this, really, even laughing. Until he saw the Pillar of Balance, that is. He stared at it for a moment, then backed away, slowly, tripping on his feet and falling backwards. He would have hit his head if Benedetto hadn't caught him.  
"What's wrong?" Maleah asked, running over to him and kneeling.  
"I...don't...know..." Kain said softly, standing up.  
"Maybe we should go home..." Benedetto said, putting an arm about his younger brother's shoulder.  
"Is something wrong?" asked a very smooth, sneaky sounding voice. The children turned around.  
  
Standing before them was a man clad in black, hooded, with a strange symbol on his forehead.  
"You two...you're Lord Dante's children, aren't you?" he asked, pleasantly. Benedetto nodded.  
"Why do all the Pillars look that way?" Maleah asked, not paying attention.  
"Why?" the man inquired, and continued when Maleah nodded, "Because they are corrupted, because of Ariel's murder. Unless we find the new Balance Guardian, they'll stay corrrupted." The man went on to explain more about the Pillars, and when he was finished, sent the children merrily back to the manor at Coorhagen.  
"That's him, Mortanius." murmured the man in black as another man appeared.  
"Which one?" Mortanius said, watching the retreating children.  
"The boy...the younger boy."  
"Are you certain, Moebius?"  
"Quite." 


	3. Interlude

**Interlude**

  
  
"And Lord Dante's younger son is the Balance Guardian? What should we do?" DeJoule said hastily to Azimuth, walking to the Pillars for one of the last meetings the Circle ever had.  
"Moebius and Mortanius have a plan, don't worry," assured Azimuth.  
"What do they intend to do?"  
"I don't know, they say he's too young yet. How old is he, anyways?"  
"He's eight."  
"Ah..." Azimuth said, walking still faster towards the Pillars.  
  
Back at Coorhagen, Benedetto was trying to explain to his parents what had happened at the Pillars. Little Kain had been sent, complaining that he felt fine and wasn't even sick, to bed.  
"And he just...fell?" a concerned Lady Vittoria asked, crossing her arms.   
"Just fell right backwards, Mother. And he backed away from the Balance Pillar...like it frightened him."  
"I think...I think it would best to keep Kain away from the Pillars." Lord Dante said, after a few moment's deliberation, "Can you keep him away, Benedetto?"  
"Yes, Father."  
"Good lad. Now...you go straight to bed too."  
  
A/N: Obscenely short, but there's something longer coming. Really. I swear! 


	4. When in the Springtime

**When in the Springtime...**

  
  
  
Kain was ten, now, taller and stronger. Benedetto, too, had grown, and at twelve he was almost taller than his father. Lady Vittoria was going to have another child, her third, which worried Lord Dante.  
One night, Kain lay awake and heard his parents arguing.  
"You're getting too old, Vittoria...and it was so hard for you to have Kain..."  
"I'll be fine, Dante, honestly!"  
"I'm just so afraid for you, love...I'm afraid that if you have this baby, you'll die."  
"I know...and I'm worried too...but Dante, there's nothing we can do now..."  
There was a sound as though Lord Dante had slammed his fist against the wall.  
"Dammit, Vittoria...I just don't want to lose you!"  
"You won't.." Lady Vittoria said, quietly, and Kain fell asleep and heard no more. He did not tell his parents what he'd heard, although he was changed by it.  
  
And one morning, early in the spring, a young midwife, who had once been the apprentice of the midwife who delivered Kain, ran all the men out of the house. She was a small, fierce woman with light brown hair, shorn close to her head, blazing gray eyes, strong arms, and a voice that seemed to carry for miles.  
  
"Out!! _**OUT!"**_ she bellowed at Kain, the last one out. He dodged a bottle of something-or-other she threw at him, which shattered against the wall, and ran into the barn with all the other men.  
  
"That woman..." he muttered to Benedetto, "Is mad."  
"I suppose she thinks it's bad luck to have men in the house at all. But the way I heard it, it's bad luck to have men in the same room..."  
"Midwives, they're all a superstitious lot." muttered Kain's father, who was unused to sitting in the staw scattered on the barn floor.  
"How long d'you think we'll be in here?" Kain asked. Benedetto started to laugh, but stopped at the sight of his father's face. Lord Dante was all seriousness.  
Ñ "I don't know, Kain. I just don't know."  
Hours went by, and Kain fell asleep. So did Benedetto.  
  
The sun was just beginning to set when Lord Dante shook his sons awake. "Boys...wake up. Your mother wants to see you!"  
Kain sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and immediately was dragged to his feet.  
"C'mon, Kain!" said Benedetto, always the quicker one to wake. They all walked as quickly to Lady Vittoria as they could without running.  
  
"I think she'll be alright..." the midwife said quietly, brushing Lady Vittoria's fair hair away from her face and dabbing her forehead. The baby had already been cleaned, swaddled, and put in it's mother's arms. Lord Dante paid the midwife and looked tenderly down at his wife.  
  
"It's a girl!" Vittoria said, breathlessly.  
"She's gonna be pretty..." Benedetto said, looking down at the baby. Kain, quite frankly, thought the baby was quite ugly. He dared not say it to his mother, though.  
"Her name is Caprice." Vittoria said softly, stroking the baby's light blond hair.  
  
And that would be the final addition to Kain's family for a long while. 


	5. To University!

**To University!**

  
  
  
Kain was angry. He'd fought with Maleah, and she'd hit him. Even a good distance away from Coorhagen, and her, his face still stung from her hand. He was 15, now, and headed off to the University of Nachtholm. He was so angry that he couldn't even remember what had been said. He unclenched his fists and thought of a happier time. His little sister had cried until he promised her he'd write to her as much as he could. She'd grown into a pretty little thing, really, and he was rather attached to her. The sun began to sink in the sky, and one of the men-at-arms who accompanied Kain asked if perhaps they should stop for the night. Kain nodded, and as they stopped for the night, he distinctly heard a voice call him. It was Maleah. She must have ran all the way from Coorhagen to have caught up with him, and she looked it, with her long hair tangled, and her face was red. Maleah was going through that stage between girlhood and womanhood, with the long legged awkwardness of a fawn. She was mildly pretty now, although in a year or two she'd likely be very beautiful.  
  
"Kain..." she said softly, gently touching his shoulder.  
"Don't talk to me."  
"Please, Kain, listen! I...I wanted to apologize..."  
Kain turned to face her then, but said nothing.  
"I'm sorry I hit you...earlier..." she continued, "And...I didn't mean anything I said to you back there."  
"Nor did I..." he murmured.  
"And...I'm not happy to see you go..."  
"I'll write you, too, Maleah, and you wait, I'll be out of there and back home in ten years!"  
"It seems like a long time, Kain..." Maleah said.  
"It'll go by so fast!" Kain laughed, hugging Maleah, "And I'll have one of the men-at-arms take you home tomorrow morning, you shouldn't be out alone at night."  
  
"I'm glad we're friends..." Maleah said later that night, as she began to fall asleep.  
"As am I..." Kain said sleepily, gently touching Maleah's hand and drifting off to sleep himself.  
----  
Thank you, reviewers! Thank you very much! 


	6. First Letter to Maleah

**First Letter to Maleah**

  
  
  
_Dear Maleah,  
  
I suppose my family will be offended that my first letter was to you and not to them, but...I don't know why, I just had to write you first. I miss you, and your humor. How are you, anyways? Things could be so much better here... there's too much military training. I didn't come here to learn to be a soldier, although with all the brigands about, military training just might be useful. I know it's a little early to be saying this, and all, since it's only the beginning of winter, but I'm going to try and make it back to Coorhagen for the summer. And I know I'm changing topics all the time, I guess I just can't organize my thoughts today. Anyways, I really wish I could make this letter longer, but it looks like our period of free time is about over.  
I hope to see you soon, Maleah.  
  
**Your Friend,**  
**Kain.**_  
  



	7. First Letter Home

**First Letter Home**

  
  
  
_Dear Mother, Father, Benedetto, and Caprice,  
  
I hope this letter finds you all in good health. Yes, Caprice, I'm sad you're not around, too. Anyways, we have a very well-rounded curriculum here, everything from history and mathematics to hand-to-hand combat, as well as geography and military training, just in case we join the army. I'd really like to come back home for the summer, but it's too soon to say for sure if I will.  
  
I miss you all, especially little Caprice. I hope I get to come back for the summer and see you all!  
  
**Much love,  
Kain**_  
  
A/N: Yeah, well, dun worry, there will actually be narration, but I do plan to have a few more letters. 


	8. Letter Exchange

**Letter Exchange**

  
  
  
Months passed, and neither Maleah or Kain's family heard from him. Worry abounded in the Oscurita house, until...  
  
_Dear Maleah,_  
  
_I'm so sorry I haven't written in so long...but, and I'll be very surprised if you haven't heard, but the University I was at was forced to shut down, and we were all transferred to a different University at Stahlberg. So I guess I won't be home this summer.  
  
I so wanted to see you, too, Maleah! Oh well...perhaps next summer, I think I can wait that long to see you again...but write to me more often, all right? And, please, tell my family I apologize for always writing to you before I write to them...   
  
Your friend,  
**Kain**_  
  
"I always wondered why he did that...write to you first, I mean," murmured Lady Vittoria as she read her son's letter to Maleah. Maleah had felt obliged to show Kain's family the letter, so they knew he was alright.  
"I think I know..." Benedetto said, grinning at Maleah.  
"Now why...wait a second, are you insinuating something here?" Maleah asked, eyes going wide.  
"Only that he _likes_ you, Maleah..."  
"He...he can't like me!" stammered Maleah, flushing a soft pink, "I'm...I'm far too unattractive for Kain to even..." And she turned and ran away.  
  
"But you're not ugly!" Benedetto called after her.  
"Oh, don't do that, Benedetto, you won't be able to change her mind."  
"Well, she's not."  
"Let Kain tell her that." There was a tone of finality in Vittoria's voice that Benedetto dared not argue with.  
  
Maleah, back at the inn, was fervently writing a letter to Kain.  
  
_Dear Kain,_  
  
_I'm glad you wrote! We were so worried that maybe some bandits had attacked and killed you! But you wouldn't let that happen to you, would you?  
  
Your family was relieved when they saw your letter to me (I felt obligated to show them and let them know you were all right), and they weren't in the least bit offended that you wrote me first. It's a shame you won't be around this summer. I hope you'll be here next summer. I can't wait to see you again, though, whenever you come back!  
  
Yours,  
Maleah  
  
_ The very next day she'd sent the letter off with a man bound for Stahlberg. He promised her he'd deliver it right away.  
"Who is it for, Miss?"  
"Kain Oscurita, sir."  
"An' who should I say 'tis from?"  
"Maleah. He'll know who you mean." And the man rode away.  
  
Maleah could hardly wait for Kain's response. 


	9. Return

**Return**

  
  
  
_Dear Family,  
Too much military training, not enough history and other scholarly things. They've been trying to get me into a suit of armor all day. I refuse, I absolutely _refuse_ to put that thing on. It looks far too big for me...and it's ugly! Besides, how is one to mount a horse in that thing? Do knights use lifts, or what? Maybe they don't wear leg armor like my instructor told me to do.  
  
Enough about me, and my troubles with armor. Have you started teaching little Caprice her letters? Is Benedetto behaving himself? You haven't found him a wife yet, have you? I pray you are all well.  
  
Much love,  
Kain_  
  
  
_Dear Kain,  
You want to wear that armor someday and you know it! Only joking. Things are moving along very smoothly here. Caprice is learning her letters even more quickly than you did! We were so very proud when she read your last letter out loud to us!  
  
Don't worry about Benedetto getting married anytime soon, he's frighted off every potential bride so far, mostly because he tried to serenade them and we all know good and well he can't sing. I suppose it's the thought that counts.  
  
Caprice would like to tell you that she's learning all of her numbers, too, and that she wants you to hurry up and come home so you can hear her count. She also wants to let you know that soon she'll be writing you her own letters.  
  
Don't do anything to hurt yourself, son. And perhaps you could tell your instructor to get you a smaller suit of armor?  
  
Love,  
Your Mother._  
  
  
Kain folded the letter, his favorite letter from his parents, and set it aside. The ink was smudged, and the paper was crumpled and yellowed from all the times he'd read and reread it over the past two years. He was 17, and hadn't yet had a chance to get home. This year, though, this year he was going to make it, if it killed him, he was going to make it. Caprice had a way with words, he could tell just from reading what she'd written him. He wondered what she looked like now. He wondered what Maleah looked like, too. The last time he had seen her, she'd hadn't quite grown into herself, and she had been awkward as a newborn fawn.  
  
"Oy, Kain!" called his roommate, an irritable young man named Othello.  
"What do you want?"  
"Well, some wench called Maleah wrote you a letter, which I have in my hand...don't you care?"  
"Don't you call her that..." Kain growled.  
"Hn...you like her? Little tavern wench, is she?"  
"Shut up!" Kain snapped, standing up from his chair. Othello held the letter in his hand, smirking.  
"Why don't you hit me once? I'll give it to you then..."  
  
Kain, growing annoyed, did so, knocking Othello flat on his backside. He then took the letter from Othello's hand and ripped it open. It consisted of only a few sentences, Maleah's normally neat handwriting was made almost illegibly, for it was written hastily. The letter read:   
  
_Kain:  
We're coming for you!  
  
Maleah._


	10. Maleah

**Maleah**

  
Kain read over the words again and again, struck dumb by the message. _We're coming for you!_  
"When did this letter arrive, Othello?"  
"Well...yesterday, Kain..."   
"So...", Kain reasoned, "The letter got here yesterday, it came all the way from Coorhagen...and...Othello!"  
"What?" grumbled Othello, standing up and rubbing his sore backside. (He'd landed on a chair.)  
"It's possible that they could be coming today!" Kain whooped, and he dashed out of the room.  
  
"There's another crazy one..." muttered one teacher to the other as Kain whizzed past them, running as fast as he could to the main gate of the University. Would Maleah be with them? What did she look like now? Did she still think of him as her friend? He thought about her as he ran, the mere memory of her bringing on emotions he'd never really noticed before.  
  
He was stopped by Tybalt, one of his favorite guards, at the gate.  
"What's your hurry, Kain? Term's not over, yet...you still have one more day of examinations, don't you?"  
"Yes...yes, Tybalt...we do...I was just wondering..."  
"Slow down, there son, and catch your breath, you look like you ran all the way here!"  
"I did!" Kain panted. When he caught his breath again, he asked Tybalt if anyone from Coorhagen had come in.  
"No...there's been nobody in here all week, except the postman...you weren't expecting anyone, were you?"  
"Not at all..." Kain murmured. He turned to walk away when an idea struck him.  
"Tybalt...can I wait up with you?"  
"What for? That group? Don't you have examinations tomorrow?"  
"Well...yes...but..." There was such a look of pleading in Kain's eyes that gruff Tybalt could not refuse.  
"All right. But just until my shift is over, you understand?"   
Kain said he did, and settled himself down to watch the road.  
  
"Kain...Kain! Wake up, kid! Is this the group?" Tybalt practically shouted in Kain's ear.  
"I'm up, I'm up..." muttered Kain, rubbing his eyes. He looked around just in time to see the last member of the caravan of wagons, horses, and mules that had gone through the gate.   
"Was that them, Kain? They said they were from Coorhagen..."  
Kain stood faster than one could blink when he heard that. He looked at the wagons making their way into the guest area, then looked back at Tybalt. "I don't know." Kain murmured.  
"Ah, well, you'll probably find out tomorrow, because my shift is over. And Lucentio had a bad day, so you can bet that he won't let you stick around."  
Kain nodded, bid Tybalt goodnight, and turned to go back to his quarters. On the way he saw the most extraordinary young woman.  
  
She couldn't have been much older than he was, and as she walked her lavender silk dress swished around her and brushed against the ground. Her long black hair hung loose behind her, tumbling over her shoulders and stopping, Kain thought, at the small of her back. A veil made of some translucent lavender material covered her hair. But what caught Kain's attention the most were the girl's eyes, deep violet and expressive. They seemed familiar to him, somehow...  
  
"Excuse me, but I'm looking for someone..." the girl said softly, stopping him. There was even something familiar about the lyrical way her voice flowed, but he couldn't quite place it..  
"Excuse me," the girl said again, coming closer to Kain, "But I'm looking for...." She stopped speaking and scrutinized Kain's face more closely. Then she threw her arms about him.  
"Kain! It's you!" she cried out, as she hugged him tightly for a moment and then pulled away from him and touched his face.  
"You've changed, Kain. I almost didn't know you..."  
"I don't know _you_," Kain snapped, turning to walk away.  
"Oh, Kain, let's not fight again...I haven't seen you in three years..."  
Kain stopped in his tracks and turned and looked at the pretty girl in lavender.  
"Maleah...?"  
"Yes!" the girl laughed, and she threw her arms about Kain again, "As soon as your examinations are done tomorrow, we'll be going back! Oh, wait until you see your little sister! She's beautiful! And your brother's betrothed...can you believe that?"  
"Tell me all about it on the way back, Maleah..." He didn't want to leave her alone, but he had to and get some sleep for his examinations...  
"All right, Kain." Maleah didn't seem in the least bit upset about that, "Then I'll see you tomorrow?"  
"You have my word on it." 


	11. Coorhagen

**Coorhagen**

Kain burst out of the examination hall and nearly stepped on Maleah, who was waiting on the steps for him.  
"Careful, Kain," she said with a laugh. She moved to stand up and Kain extended a hand.  
"Here."  
"Finally learning to be a gentleman, are we, Kain?" Maleah giggled as she took his hand. He helped her stand and she smiled. "Thank you."  
"It was nothing. Where's the caravan home?"  
"Just outside the gates."  
They walked to the caravan in silence, and Kain couldn't stop stealing glances at her when he thought she wouldn't notice. How had that gangly, fawn-like creature become such a beauty? Today she was wearing a simple, long-sleeved green dress, and her hair was pinned up. The dress may have been simple, but it was made out of much finer cotton than she had previously been able to afford. Had the inn experienced a recent boom in business? His mind reeled with questions, but he was afraid to ask. When they neared the wagon, Maleah smiled at him. "You've been quiet, Kain. Are you all right?"

"No—I mean...I'm fine. I just...have nothing to say."

"Nothing? You've spent two years at that university and you have _nothing _to say about it? Aren't there any teachers you like? Any favorite lessons? Any friends you'd like to talk about? Any..." Her expression grew sly at this point, "Any _girls_?"

"You know that only boys go to University!" Kain snapped. Maleah winced.

"I was just asking, Kain. After all, there are some pretty girls that live he--"

"I would never _think _of associating with girls of any lower class!"

Maleah bit her lip to keep from lashing out at him. She inhaled deeply and glared right at Kain.

"Then why do you associate with me?" she asked, before walking away. Kain, realizing after a moment that he had deeply offended his friend, hurried toward her.

"Maleah...I didn't mean that—well, you're nobility--"

"But I am lower nobility," she said coolly, "Which makes me of a lower class."

She started to stride away again, but Kain managed to take her by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Maleah. You yourself said that you didn't want to fight with me again..."

"That antedated your remark about girls of a lower class."

"Look...I...I..." Kain paused. If there was one thing he'd learned from all those diplomacy and etiquette classes at the University, it was to never apologize. Still...

_Well, all right. I'll apologize without **really **apologizing._

"I shouldn't have said that, Maleah," Kain said quietly. "I didn't mean it and it was very rude of me to say so."

Maleah smiled a bit. "All right...I'll forgive you," she said, "But be careful of what you say."

_Thank God for diplomacy classes..._

She climbed into a wagon, and beckoned Kain in. "You won't be comfortable in the other wagons," she said.

He climbed in and took a seat across from her. She reached up to pull her hair out, and stopped.

"You don't mind if I take my hair out, do you? The pins are digging into my head and--"

"Why would I mind?"

"Well, because it's not....proper...unless I have a veil..."

Kain shook his head and told her to go ahead and take her hair out. She tugged at the pins and her long black hair tumbled free. She shook it a bit.

"I hate travelling with my hair up like that..."

"Won't you have to pin it back up before we arrive?" Kain asked. Maleah shrugged.

"Most likely, but have you ever tried being on a bumpy wagon ride with these pins _digging _into your head? Besides, we won't be back for a week or so." She held them out to Kain as if to make her point.

Kain shook his head. He imagined that wouldn't be comfortable at all, however.

After a few minutes the wagon began moving, and they were on their way. Kain didn't speak much to Maleah on the trip back. He made a little small talk, here and there, mostly when they stopped to camp, but other than that he was mostly silent.

The day they arrived back in Coorhagen, Maleah was wearing a plainer, gray dress. It was still finer than anything she owned before, so far as Kain remembered.

He'd ask her about it later, he decided.

The wagon came to a sudden, jarring halt just as Maleah was putting the last pin in her hair.

"Ouch!"

"Are you all right?" Kain asked, mildly concerned. She nodded. Then she stood and gestured to the wagon door.

"We're here," she said, "Are...you ready?"

Kain nodded. "Let's go."


	12. An Opportunity Missed

**An Opportunity Missed**

**A/N: I'm planning on going through and revising this story chapter by chapter. So please excuse the dust and the gaping plot holes. **

Almost as soon as Maleah stepped out of the wagon, a young, handsome man in silver armor ran up to her and embraced her. Kain didn't recognize the man, although the crest on his armor suggested that he, too, was in service to King Ottmar. As the man came closer, Kain got a better look at him. He was angelically beautiful, with full lips, gentle green eyes and wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair. How he contrasted with the dark-haired, violet-eyed Maleah! Kain felt a pang of jealously as he watched them part from the embrace. The man said something to Maleah, kissed her cheek, and headed back toward the inn.

"Who was he?" Kain asked when Maleah walked back toward him. She looked away, and flushed red.

"He's...he's...Sir Chael. Of Willendorf."

"All right," Kain said slowly, "I'd gathered that he was a Knight of Willendorf...but _what_ exactly is he to you?"

"It's something I'd meant to tell you in a letter," Maleah said quietly, "But I could never bring myself to write it. I decided it would be best to tell you in person...Sir Chael...is my fiance."

"Your..._what?_"

Maleah smiled weakly. "I meant to write and tell you, honestly, I did, but...I didn't know how you'd take it."

"How...how did this happen? How long have you been betrothed?"

"Not long," Maleah assured Kain, "He came here last year. Said he was on business from Willendorf. My father was more than happy to let one of the King's Knights stay at our inn. He met me while I was outside picking flowers with your little sister...and, well, became smitten with me. Since last year, Sir Chael has been showering me with gifts..fine new clothes, things we need around the inn...I tried to avoid his attentions, but...anyway, Father decided that I needed someone to keep me safe in these trouble times, and arranged for me to marry him. Chael wants get to know me better, though...so...we won't be married for a while."

"Did you tell your father you don't want to marry him?" Kain asked, shocked.

"No, Kain," Maleah explained, "I am a woman. No. It's worse than that. I am a woman in the lower noble class. I don't get to choose who I marry. That is a luxry enjoyed only by men and poor women."

Kain hadn't thought about it that way. He mutely followed Maleah into town. She said something about getting back to the Inn, and he could go back to his house.

"I'll see you later."

Kain's blue eyes narrowed. Maleah should have written him, should have told him, should _not _have been so friendly with him earlier. He was furious with her. _Little strumpet,_ he thought. He was unused to being unable to get what he wanted, and, at that moment in time, he wanted Maleah. He'd have a talk with her. And her father. And that damned knight. And his own father. Oh, yes. He'd set them all straight, and marry Maleah himself.

But first, he needed to see his parents. Funny how when he was home he longed to be away from them, but now that he'd been away, he was longing to see them...

He walked up the footpath that led to his father's mansion. On the way, the townsfolk stared, surprised to see him.

"He looks like his father..."

"No, he looks more like his mother."

"He doesn't look like either of them."

Kain ignored them.

When he finally arrived back at his home, he found Benedetto standing outside, flirting with a host of young ladies. When he saw Kain, he smiled. "Ah...it's my baby brother!" The ladies all turned around.

"Ooo, you didn't say he was handsome, Benedetto," said one of the ladies, a redhead wearing a green dress.

"Of course I didn't," Benedetto laughed, "If I told you that, I wouldn't be able to flirt with you because you'd all be asking about him." The ladies twittered, all at the same time.

"You're so clever, Benedetto!"

Benedetto grinned and waved them away, telling them that he needed time to be alone with his brother, as he hadn't seen him in three years. The ladies grudglingly walked away.

"Weren't you engaged?" Kain asked when the ladies were out of earshot.

"Oh, yes, but that fell through last week. Her father discovered that she'd been seeing another man, and promptly sent her to a convent."

"I see. What a shame."

"Not really. She was dull."

Kain didn't say anything. Obviously, his brother's idea of dull was quite different from his. Kain liked women to be intelligent. Benedetto...liked women who could dance, women who enjoyed parties, women who led shallow, empty lives. There was an awkward silence, then Benedetto spoke up.

"I suppose you'll want to see Mother."

"Yes," Kain said.

"She's not well."

"From what I've heard, she hasn't been well in a long time."

"No," Benedetto sighed, "She hasn't."

"Is it..."

"It's consumption," Benedetto said.

Kain bit his lip trying to think of something to say.

"She'll be glad to see you, Kain."

"I'll be glad to see her."


End file.
